Comet 2001A2 LINEAR. August 19, 2001.
Combination of 4, 3 minute images, Meade 416XTE CCD. 8" f/6 newtonian at prime focus.
Comet 2001A2 LINEAR. August 19, 2001.
Combination of 4, 3 minute images, Meade 416XTE CCD. 8" f/6 newtonian at prime focus.
As quickly as it had appeared, the comet faded. By the end of July it had faded below naked eye visibility and a month later it was around magnitude 10. On this night this image was taken, the comet was magnitude 9.3, with a small, bright central condensation surrounded by a faint outer coma. In the image there is a hint of a tail below the central condensation.
My final observation of the comet was on August 20, just a few days before I left Western Australia for the USA.
